Warik

Weird... my car will only drive straight if the steering wheel is turned slightly to the right. If I hold the steering wheel perfectly straight, I will drift off to the left.

This is NOT a wheel alignment issue because the car has been aligned SEVERAL times since I was having the problems and I have mentioned specifically that the steering wheel was off... last time they did an alignment (2 days ago) they said the alignment was done perfectly, but when I drove away I still had the same problem.

Is there any way to adjust the steering wheel independent of the steering mechanism so I can center it perfectly (or put it upside down if I felt like it) ???

Lontar1

iTrader: (5)

you will have to take the steering wheel off and put it back in "IF and only IF" the car is perfectly aligned

Progress

iTrader: (26)

Mine is off center as well. It doesn't bother me anymore. Come to think of it, most if not every car I've owned has had an off-centered steering wheel.

Warik

Well, i.f.f. the car somehow lost it's "perfect" alignment in the past 2 days, then removing and replacing the steering wheel will not make it worse, right? It would just correct (or aggravate) my present problem.

Oooh... sounds like I've got a fun new project to work on! Any idea what might have thrown it off to begin with?

MaxBoost925

iTrader: (33)

My caster was always off. It's a nonadjustable thing. I always have to hold the wheel slightly in one direction to make it straight. You know. there was a thread about putting some washers on the control arms to make your caster straight - a backyard alignment!

P. Samson

You DO NOT remove (or even try) to remove the steering wheel to fix an off-center condition. This is basic stuff. Take it back to the alignment shop, tell them how much the wheel is off-center and they will differentially adjust the steering rods to center it.

Swisscheese

iTrader: (2)

Depending on the wear of the tires, it is possible that even aligned they could be worn so wrong that the car will still seem off center even if the alignment is good and the steering wheel is not off center. It may just appear that the steering wheel is off center. You may want to have someone check the wear on your tires and tell you if that is causing the problem.

Warik

I don't understand why. I'm not disagreeing with you... I just want to be enlightened.

The way I see it is the wheels are aligned correctly and (since another poster mentioned it) the tires are fine. Steering wheel is a few degrees off. Remove wheel, re-install in the right position, and be happy.... why not?

Worst case scenario is that the car remains aligned correctly, the tires remain fine, and I have to hold my steering wheel upside down and 35 degrees to the left to drive straight. I'd imagine the worst damage I could do would not hurt the vehicle at all... or am I wrong?

Is that something that I can do myself? What would that typically run me if it needs to be done by a shop?

Warik

They are less than 5000 miles old. Even when professionally installed brand new and the wheels were aligned at the same time, I still had the same problem. It's not the tires.

And the car has (supposedly successfully) been aligned at least 3x since the installation of the tires (once after installation, once with my last oil change, and once now when I installed new struts & springs), so it's not the wheel alignment.

dansmax2003

iTrader: (7)

Do you always go to the same alignment shop? Maybe you want to get a second opinion?

I had this happen to my old Audi. I put new Falken tires and my steering wheel angle got all messed up. I did the alignment 3x ....nothing helped! As soon as i replaced the tires, everything was back to normal. I still have NO idea why this happened. The tires were all balanced and new....i'm still tryng to figure this one out.

Warik

I normally get my wheel alignments done by Firestone because I purchased their lifetime alignment plan. There are, however, two different Firestone shops near my house and I have had alignments done at both of them. They also have different mechanics doing the alignments, so the chances of 3 alignments being done incorrectly by three different mechanics in two different shops are so remote that I didn't even consider them as a possibility.

P. Samson

I repeat. You do not remove the steering wheel. It ain't simple and it may be master splined anyway. After a shop does an alignment they should verify the steering wheel centering. Steering wheel centering is done with the steering rod "toe" adjusters. You lengthen one lets say 1 turn and you shorten the other the EXACT same amount. This "shifts" the relationship between the front wheels and the steering wheel to "center" it, but it does not (or should not) change the "toe" adjustment. A good shop will probably recheck the toe mind you.

bigEL

Listen to the man. He knows what he's talking about.

03on18s

iTrader: (10)

you need to ask the alignment shop to center your steering wheel when they align your car. not every shop will do that.

boondoxmax

iTrader: (1)

That's what I was gonna say. When I had my front wheel bearings replaced the alignment shop had to center my steering wheel and he told me alot of shops do check to see if the steering wheel is center, but they are suppose to cause its part of the alignment check

Warik

Ok... I will check with the shop about this. Will driving around with the wheel off center hurt my alignment at all? Or is it just a pain in the butt?

P. Samson

No. How far is it off-center anyway?

Warik

I'd have to whip out the ol' protractor to get an exact figure, but I'm guessing..... hmm... well, um... about 10 degrees? 15 tops.

Holding the wheel perfectly centered and going 40mph, it would take maybe 5-7 seconds before I drift completely into the left lane.

2 seconds before I'd ram someone on the side who is next to me.

zoner

Yeah, P. Samson's right - besides, you don't want to risk getting punched in the face by your air bag -
Next time try to see what the shop is doing - They should center the steering wheel and lock it in place before initiating the alignment. If they don't, then they're not off to a very good start. It's possible to have a perfectly aligned car with an off-center steering wheel angle. They should check it before handing the car over to you anyway.